Table 1.
Summary of Respiratory Outbreaks and Associated Morbidity in Three Mountain Gorilla Groups in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park, June 2012–February 2013, and Human Respiratory Syncytial Virus (HRSV) Testing Results of Fecal Samples from Clinically Ill Mountain Gorillas.
| Outbreak dates (duration in days) | Umubano 12–17 Jun 2012 (6) | Agashya 30 Aug–4 Oct 2012 (36) | Sabyinyo 22 Jan–14 Feb 2013 (24) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall morbidity1 (%) | 4/12 (33.3) | 14/24 (58.3) | 13/15 (86.7) |
| Adults > 8 yrs | 2/7 (28.6) | 6/10 (60) | 7/8 (87.5) |
| Juveniles 3.5–8 years | 2/4 (50) | 7/12 (58.3) | 3/4 (75) |
| Infants up to 3.5 years | 0/1 (0) | 1/2 (50) | 3/3 (100) |
| Males | 4/9 (44.4) | 7/9 (77.8) | 7/8 (87.5) |
| Females | 0/3 (0) | 7/15 (46.7) | 6/7 (85.7) |
| Interventions2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| HMPV-positive fecal samples | 0/0 (0) | 0/0 (0) | 0/0 (0) |
| HRSV-positive fecal samples | 0/2 (0) | 6/6 (100)3 | 5/9 (55.5)4 |
| HRSV-positive individuals | 0/2 (0) | 3/3 (100) | 4/7 (57.1) |
Data from group−wide outbreaks in three gorilla groups; samples (n = 3) were also collected from other small events from two additional gorilla groups (data not shown).
1Overall morbidity was defined as the number of animals that showed clinical signs divided by gorilla demographic group size during the outbreak; total numbers of subgroups did not always equal total group size, as age or sex was not known for all individuals.
2Interventions involved remotely administering (darting) gorillas with an antibiotic (ceftriaxone) and a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (ketoprofen).
3These six samples were collected from three individuals, including the silverback, from which HRSV-positive fecal samples were collected on the 9/4, 9/18, and 9/20/12; an adult female, from which HRSV-positive fecal samples were collected on 9/20/12 and 10/2/12; and a juvenile male from a single collection on 9/20/12.
4These five samples were collected from four individuals, including the silverback, from which HRSV-negative fecal samples were collected on 2/2 and 2/6/13; an adult female, from which HRSV-positive fecal samples were collected on 1/22 and 1/28/13; and two adult females from which HRSV-positive fecal samples were collected on single occasions, 1/29/13 and 6/2/13.